Abba 阿爸
Not to be confused with the well-known Swedish pop group, Abba is a movie about a very local Taiwanese musical sensation: singer, songwriter, composer and actor Hung Yi-feng (洪一峰). The film is directed by his third son, Hung Jung-liang (洪榮良). The older Hung, who was a household name in the 1960s and who won a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Melody Awards in 2010 not long before his death, is an undisputed part of Taiwan’s musical history. The film includes footage of the singer and his three sons, revealing a family story that is poignant for sacrifices made in the name of artistic success. The film is suffused with the director’s sense of neglect during his childhood, and the need to find reconciliation in later years.
Creation
Paul Bettany is naturalist Charles Darwin, who engages in a battle between a growing conviction in his revolutionary theories about evolution and his relationship with his deeply religious wife, Emma (Jennifer Connelly), whose beliefs he devotes his scientific career to overturning. This splendid piece of period drama, though less about the science and mostly about the marital relationship, picks up the debate on science versus faith that continues to have ramifications today. Director Jon Amiel has taken the melodramatic high road in telling his story, so don’t expect to discover much about Darwin’s scientific thinking that you didn’t already know.
Ways to Live Forever
Variety magazine lauds Ways to Live Forever as proving that it is possible to make an “upbeat movie about a 12-year-old dying of leukemia.” Based on a best-selling novel by Sally Nicholls, the film’s success in avoiding the pitfalls of movies about kids with terminal illness, of which there are many, is largely down to sensitive direction and the remarkable talent of child actor Robbie Kay. Kay plays Sam, a boy who knows that his days are numbered, but who gets on with life anyway. Issues of Sam’s mortality cast an increasingly long shadow, and when you reach for the tissues, the tears are generally free of suspicions of cynical manipulation by the filmmaker.
Trespass
B-movie with an A-list cast makes for a really bad combination in Trespass, a new film by Joel Schumacher (Phone Booth, Batman and Robin). From the off, you can’t help but want to see either Nicolas Cage or Nicole Kidman (or at least the characters Kyle and Sarah Miller that they play) shot in the head, but despite the interminable gun play and threats of bloody violence, nothing much actually seems to happen. Gunmen take over the Millers’ home and hold them for ransom, and it gradually emerges that they have been betrayed from within. Unfortunately, by mid-movie, you simply don’t care what happens to the Millers, or whether the bad guys get away with the money. You just want the film to end.
Paranormal Activity 3
This third iteration of the cult film Paranormal Activity has earned points among fans for its low-key approach and ability to keep audiences primed for a big scare over a long period of time, and then delivering on the promise. For those familiar with the franchise, Paranormal Activity 3 is actually a prequel picking up the early story of characters from both the first and second films (Katie in the first film and Kristi in the second), though now played by preteen thespians Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown. A number of solid scares that manage to extend the range of the overworked found-footage concept give the film legs.
Dabangg
Bollywood cop drama starring Salman Khan as the tough and none-too-honest supercop Chulbul Pandey, who ladles out his own kind of justice in a corrupt world, shooting down gangsters and politicos who simply are not nearly as cool as he is. Khan, who is infamous as Bollywood’s bad boy, with a string of criminal charges to his name, is ideal casting as a law enforcement agent who won’t play by the rules. Dabangg is already regarded as a “super hit” on the subcontinent.
Knock Out
Yet more Bollywood, but this time a film that looks remarkably like a knock-off of Joel Schumacher’s 2002 film Phone Booth. Directed by Mani Shankar, who has a huge reputation in Hindi cinema, the film is all about “black money,” a theme probably familiar to local audiences. According to online film magazine Planet Bollywood, “despite the glaring unavoidable references to Phone Booth, the movie is not the least bit like it.” Unusually for a Bollywood film, there are no musical segments. But it does boast tight action choreography and solid acting by an experienced cast.
Ayumi Hamasaki 3D Rock and Roll Circus Tour
Concert film of Ayumi Hamasaki’s 2010 concert tour. Hamasaki, called Ayu by her fans, is a singer-songwriter, model and record producer who has earned the title of “empress of pop” for her huge influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Since her debut in 1998, she has set numerous music publishing records and now has a huge fan base in Taiwan.
Kaohsiung Film Festival 高雄電影節
Opens today and runs until Nov. 6, presenting a huge selection of films from around the world. Movies range from cult and art house to mainstream features, children’s films and animation. This year’s festival includes sections on the directors of the Polish new wave and one on American avant-garde director James Benning. Information on the almost 200 films and their screening times can be found at www.kff.tw/2011/tw. Screenings will be held at the Cinemark Dream Mall (高雄夢時代喜滿客影城), 8F, 789 Jhonghua 5th Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市中華五路789號8樓), the Kaohsiung Film Archive (高雄市電影館), 10 Hesi Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市河西路10號) and the Kaohsiung City Music Archive (高雄市音樂館), 99 Hesi Rd, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市河西路99號). Tickets cost NT$180 at the door.
“China wants to unify with Taiwan at the lowest possible cost, and it currently believes that unification will become easier and less costly as time passes,” wrote Amanda Hsiao (蕭嫣然) and Bonnie Glaser in Foreign Affairs (“Why China Waits”) this month, describing how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is playing the long game in its quest to seize Taiwan. This has been a favorite claim of many writers over the years, easy to argue because it is so trite. Very obviously, if the PRC isn’t attacking Taiwan, it is waiting. But for what? Hsiao and Glaser’s main point is trivial,
May 18 to May 24 Gathered on Yangtou Mountain (羊頭山) on Dec. 5, 1972, Taiwan’s hiking enthusiasts formally declared the formation of the “100 Peaks Club” (百岳俱樂部) and unveiled the final list of mountains. Famed mountaineer Lin Wen-an (林文安) led this effort for the Chinese Alpine Association (中華山岳協會). Working with other experienced climbers, he chose 100 peaks above 10,000 feet (3,048m) that featured triangulation points and varied in difficulty and character. The list sparked an alpine hiking craze, inspiring many to take up mountaineering and competing to “conquer” the summits. A common misconception is that the 100 Peaks represent Taiwan’s 100 tallest
Taiwan’s overtaking of South Korea in GDP per capita is not a temporary anomaly, but the result of deeper structural problems in the South Korean economy says Chang Young-chul, the former CEO of Korea Asset Management Corp. Chang says that while it reflects Taiwan’s own gains, it also highlights weakening growth momentum in South Korea. As design and foundry capabilities become more important in the AI era, Seoul risks losing competitiveness if it relies too heavily on memory chips. IMF forecasts showing Taiwan widening its lead over South Korea have fueled debate in Seoul over memory chip dependence, industrial policy and
Yesterday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nominated legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) as their Taipei mayoral candidate, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) put their stamp of approval on Wei Ping-cheng (魏平政) as their candidate for Changhua County commissioner and former legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has begun the process to also run in Changhua, though she has not yet been formally nominated. All three news items are bizarre. The DPP has struggled with settling on a Taipei nominee. The only candidate who declared interest was Enoch Wu (吳怡農), but the party seemed determined to nominate anyone
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